Test Bank
Chapter 8: The Nonverbal Code
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following terms refers to the study of communication with the body, including
the use of hands, arms, legs, and face, to send messages?
a. paralanguage
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. kinesics
2. Which of the following terms refers to the study of communication with the voice, including
vocal characteristics such as volume, pitch, and rate to send messages?
a. paralanguage
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. kinesics
3. Which of the following terms refers to the study of communication with the perception and
use of space?
a. paralanguage
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. kinesics
4. Which of the following terms refers to the study of communication via touch?
a. paralanguage
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. kinesics
5. A key distinction between the verbal and nonverbal systems of communication is that
______.
a. animals do not possess a verbal system of communication
b. the verbal system is based on haptics, whereas the nonverbal system is based on kinesics
c. the verbal system is based on symbols whereas the nonverbal system is signal based
d. the verbal system regulates communication whereas the nonverbal system complements
communication
6. Emblems are primarily ______.
a. vocal characteristics of volume and pitch
b. perceptions of smell
c. hand gestures that have a direct verbal translation
d. dress artifacts
7. In high-context and collectivistic cultures, nonverbal greeting rituals often differ according to
______.
a. one’s social status
b. perceptions of smell and haptics
c. the perception and use of gestures
d. violations of expectancies
8. Which of the following channels of nonverbal communication has the highest sending
capacity?
a. affect displays
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. illustrators
9. Which of the following channels of nonverbal communication is regarded as universal across
cultures?
a. affect displays
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. illustrators
10. Which of the following channels of nonverbal communication is regarded as the most
primitive form of communication?
a. affect displays
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. illustrators
11. Which of the following countries is considered low contact?
a. United States
b. England
c. France
d. Puerto Rico
12. According to research, approximately how many compounds can the average human detect
by smell?
a. 100
b. 1,000
c. 10,000
d. 100,000
13. Some of the finest perfumes in the world contain olfactory hints of ______.
a. sweat
b. hair
c. vomit
d. urine
14. The evaluation of violations of nonverbal expectancies depends largely on ______.
a. the culturally learned expectancies
b. the attractiveness or reward value of the violator
c. the duration of the proxemics
d. the duration of the chronemics
15. The phenomena known as the own-race bias—that is, that people recognize the faces of others
of their own race better than they do the faces of others of a different race—occurs because
______.
a. people in all cultures are racists
b. when viewing cross-race faces, people focus more on the other’s race than on individual
identity
c. people prefer to interact with people of their own race
d. people prefer to interact with people of other races
16. Digital communication refers to______.
a. cross-cultural communication.
b. intercultural communication.
c. verbal communication.
d. nonverbal communication.
True/False
1. Verbal communication is often called digital communication and nonverbal communication is
called analogic communication.
2. Proxemics includes the study of gestures, hand and arm movements, leg movements, facial
expressions, eye gaze and blinking, and stance or posture.
3. Researchers believe that some facial expressions of emotion are universal.
4. In many Asian cultures, such as South Korea, Vietnam, and Japan, direct eye contact is
prohibited between persons of differing status.
5. Some languages, called tonal languages, rely on vocalized tones to communicate meaning.
6. Nonnative accents are associated with a wide range of negative stereotypes, including
perceptions that the people who speak them are less intelligent, less loyal, less competent, and
lower in social status.
7. Privacy in densely populated locations is often accomplished affectively rather than
physiologically.
8. The United States is regarded as a high-contact culture, whereas many Asian countries are
considered moderate contact.
9. Violations of our nonverbal expectancies (i.e., someone standing too close) trigger arousal.
10. Persons in large power distance cultures are generally less aware of their vocalics (e.g.,
volume, intensity) than are persons in small power distance cultures.
11. Research indicates that by 6 months of age, babies in all cultures begin to use gestures to
communicate to their parents.
12. Often, paralinguistic qualities, vocalizations, and nonfluencies reveal a speaker’s emotional
state or veracity.
13. Nonverbal communication is considered analogic communication.
a. True
b. False
Essay/Short Answer
1. Compare and contrast verbal and nonverbal codes; how are they similar and different?
2. Define kinesics and provide examples of kinesic behavior across cultures.
3. Defend or refute the idea that persons of different races “all look alike.”
